These are not ordinary playing cards. They are from the Cincinnati Game Co. and the last copyright date listed on the card insert is 1905. This deck is part of their Educational Games series. From what I can tell, these seem to be the Authors series. There are 4 different groups, each with 13 cards. The groups are: America, England, Ireland and Scotland. On each card is an excerpt from a famous author (from the respective country) and an illustration. I don't know how the game was played. The directions were not with the deck. If anyone knows anything about these cards, feel free to email me.